Shareholder Action

As
a stockholder, BBT initiates and participates in discussions with corporations to encourage the adoption of business practices more likely to
promote social justice and to protect and preserve the natural environment.
When dialog does not lead to the desired results, sponsoring a shareholder
resolution sometimes moves an effort to a new stage. A shareholder resolution
represents a direct call to a company’s board of directors to take action in
response to its owners’ preferences. Membership in the Interfaith
Center on Corporate Responsibility, a group of 275 faith-based
investors, links BBT’s efforts with the knowledge and experience of a much
larger group. Members discuss socially responsible initiatives and methods
while coordinating efforts on corporate shareholder actions.

Dialog with ConocoPhillips builds the foundation for global change

BBT’s
director of socially responsible investing activities, Steve Mason, traveled to
Houston, Texas in 2011 to speak up for
the indigenous people of Peru and other places where energy company
ConocoPhillips is operating. Church of the Brethren members, through BBT, own
stock in ConocoPhillips and want the company to vow to respect the rights of
the indigenous people where the company
is operating. “My focus is more on trying to get the company to think about
establishing a corporate policy that is a benchmark for all of their operations
wherever they may be,” said Steve.

In
2008, BBT sponsored a shareholder resolution on the issue, which has led to
regular meetings between ConocoPhilllips executives and shareholder
representatives. “We believe that the
company has a better understanding of the issue and we are hopeful that the
company will soon adopt a corporate policy that protects the rights of
indegenous people,” said Steve.

"As a shareholder, we
should ask the companies in which we invest to respect human dignity,"
emphasizes BBT President Nevin Dulabaum. “We believe as followers of Christ
that we should be Christlike, that we should pay people respect, and that we
should celebrate individuality.”